The Laptop/Tablet Hybrid Will Never Work

When Microsoft introduced Windows 8, its goals were ambitious: a single operating system for both computer and tablet. When it unveiled the Surface, it upped the stakes: One single device promised both laptop and tablet experiences. No compromises.

That didn’t work. It won’t ever work.

The Surface RT is a very good (if not quite great) piece of hardware with some of the most innovative design ideas we saw in 2012. It wasn’t, however, a pure laptop and pure tablet in a single piece of hardware.